Nevada receives nearly $50,000 to launch women’s history project

The year 2020 marks the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment – the most significant milestone towards women’s equality in American history. With the centennial celebration of women’s voting rights on the horizon, the Nevada State Historic Preservation Office (NSHPO) is excited to launch its “Nevada Women’s Cultural Resource Project,” which will help tell the story of women’s suffrage and social history in Nevada. Funded by a $46,415 National Park Service (NPS) Underrepresented Communities Grant, this year Nevada is the only state to receive this grant funding for projects that specifically recognize and honor the many important contributions that women have made in shaping the Silver State’s unique heritage.

The Nevada Women’s Cultural Resource Project provides a framework to help bring women’s history in Nevada to life. In addition to underscoring the suffrage movement over the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the project will help tell the story of women’s rights in the postwar era, highlight professional achievements, and offer insight into the cultural experiences of women in Nevada. The project will also highlight the Nevada State Capitol Building, where Governor Emmett Boyle signed the resolution for ratification of the 19th Amendment in Nevada in 1915. Over the next year, NSHPO will help complete the Nevada Women’s Cultural Resource analysis, as well as recommend historic properties associated with the history of women in Nevada to be listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

“The Nevada Women’s Cultural Resource Project is specially designed to educate, inspire, empower, and shape the future by integrating distinctive stories of Nevada women into our collective culture and history,” said Rebecca Palmer, Administrator of the Nevada State Historic Preservation Office. “We are excited to embark on this creative journey to preserve women’s history in Nevada, while engaging our communities and visitors from all over the world in discovering the important roles that women have played in the Silver State.”